guide to evaluating resources

By: Corey Williams Green; Modified by Mandy Swygart-Hobaugh

Consulting Librarian for the Social Sciences

Cornell College

A Guide to Evaluating Resources Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly, Primary vs. Secondary, and Internet/WWW

Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly Journals

Review the comparative criteria to help you determine if a journal and/or journal article is of

a scholarly nature.

Scholarly journal article Non-scholarly journal article Purpose To share with other scholars the results

of primary research and experiments.

To entertain or inform in a broad,

general sense.

Audience Researchers; Academic faculty &

students

General public

Author A respected scholar or researcher in the

field; an expert on the topic; authors’

names are always noted.

A journalist or feature writer; authors’

names not always noted.

Publisher A professional association; a university

or scholarly commercial publisher.

A commercial publisher.

Appearance Very basic layout, usually black text on

white paper; tables or charts to

illustrate research components;

advertising is at a minimum and is

subject-related.

Often printed on glossy paper with

colored text or headlines; usually has

accompanying photographs and many

advertisements.

Publication

Acceptance

Experts (peers) in the field review each

article submission before publication

acceptance (i.e. peer reviewed).

Writers are often employed by the

magazine or publisher; acceptance is

based largely on the topic’s consumer

appeal; not peer reviewed.

Language College-level; specialized vocabulary or

jargon of the discipline

Non-technical, conversational/simple

vocabulary

Article

Length

Often lengthy (approximately 10-30

pages)

Often short (approximately 1-10 pages)

Article

Organization

&

References

Highly-structured; include abstracts,

review of literature, methodology, and

citations to sources; always contain a bibliography of references.

Loosely-structured; rarely have bibliographies; sometimes informally

mention sources

Examples American Journal of Political Science,

Policy Studies Review

Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report,

Time

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

These are the two main types of resources used in research.

Primary Source Secondary Source

Definition An original, first-hand document; it

has not been previously published,

interpreted or translated.

Interprets and analyzes primary

sources, information is “once-

removed.” Secondary sources are

often based on primary sources.

Examples • Original published research

• Government documents

• Historical records

• Works of art and literature

(poetry, drama, novels, music,

art, etc.)

• Correspondence, diaries and

other personal papers

• Autobiographies

• Transcripts of interviews and

proceedings

• Photographs

• Reviews of the literature of a

certain field

• Textbooks, encyclopedias, etc.

• Reviews of plays, films, books,

etc.

• Editorials in

newspapers/magazines



Cornell College

Evaluation Criteria for Internet Resources: The following questions will assist you in judging web sites.

Questions to ask yourself

Authority • Is the author and the author’s affiliation clearly indicated?

• Is there contact information for the author?

• Is the publisher (or publishing source) reputable? Accuracy • Do editors check the information?

• Is appropriate documentation provided when the author refers to

another’s work? • Is the page error-free?

Objectivity • Is the purpose of the site clearly stated? • Does the author make use of emotional appeals instead of logical

arguments as a means to sway the opinion of the audience? • Is sponsorship acknowledged?

Currency • Is the publication date (date created) clearly stated?

• Is the page revised regularly, with the date posted?

• Are all links active?

Coverage • What is the purpose of the page? Is the scope clearly stated?

• To what depth does this page purport to delve into the topic?

Does it claim to be what it is not?

• Who is the audience for the page? Experts or novices?

Quick Guide to Domain Definitions

Evaluating the domain name in the address of an Internet site can help you determine the

purpose of the site and its impact on the information provided there.

Questions to ask yourself

.com =

commercial

The commercial domain name has recently been expanded to indicate

different types of business—for example .biz Profit is the primary driving force behind the interests of the organization.

.edu = educational The educational domain is for organizations connected to education in some

way, such as elementary and high schools, colleges and universities,

research institutes and museums.

.gov =

governmental

The governmental domain is used by US non-military government

organizations, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation

.mil = military The military domain is for US military-related governmental organizations,

such as the US Navy.

.org =

organization

The organization domain is for non-profit organizations that do not fit the

above categories. Advocacy of a particular issue or viewpoint is often the

primary purpose of pages from organizations.

.net = network The network domain is for personal pages.

State sites

Example: ia.us

These domains are used for many state governmental sites and some state-

affiliated institutions (e.g., schools, libraries).

Note: the .US domain requires a state code as a second level domain

Country

abbreviations

Example: .nz=New

Zealand

Country domains are assigned for countries other than the US (Note: The

abbreviation is taken from the country’s native language; for example,

Germany’s abbreviation is “.de”

/~ Although this is not a domain name, it is an indication of an account under a

domain name. For example, web pages of students at educational

institutions are indicated by the school’s address followed by a tilde and the

student’s name.

* Additional domain names have recently been created; for example, .name is for individual use—an individual can purchase a domain name ending in a name of their choice.



Cornell College

Comparison of Database and Web Searching

Database Web

Access Available through the Internet in a Web interface

Available through the Internet in a Web interface

Standards Yes. Contents are selectively added from newspapers, journals, reference works or library catalog records. Some have only peer-reviewed articles. Errors and bias may still be found, so evaluation is required.

No. Anyone can publish anything and mount it on the web. Requires careful evaluation skills looking at authority, accuracy, currency, objectivity, and coverage.

Format May have citations only, or citations with abstract, or citations plus full-text

Usually has full-text

Indexing Indexing follows specific rules for each field.

Indexing varies depending on the spider and what it is programmed to collect (e.g. title, first heading, first 25 words, etc.)

Field Searching

Can restrict searches to a particular field such as Author, Title, Descriptor, Subject, Source (Journal Name)

Some search engines allow limiting searches to a limited number of fields such as Title, URL, Text or Links. This is usually in an “Advanced Search”.

Boolean Generally allows Boolean searching (AND, OR, NOT)

Search engines vary whether and how they allow Boolean searching (+, AND, -, NOT, OR). Default varies between AND and OR.

Proximity Often has proximity searching (ability to search one word NEAR another or WITHIN “n” words of another)

Few search engines offer proximity searches except Altavista

Cost Generally expensive to subscribe. “Free”

Examples ACS Journals on the Web, EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier, General Science Abstracts

Google, Ixquick, Teoma, Altavista, Vivisimo

guide to evaluating resources

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